Hedi Slimane portraits, LA

Art/
10 Mar 2009
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Whitney Bedford by Hedi Slimane

Since departing from Dior Hommeâs creative helm in 2007, Hedi Slimane has been such a prolific curator and photographer that weâve almost forgotten his contribution to the fashion world. Of course we havenât really but such is the dexterity and verve heâs shown as an artist, curator and photographer itâs hard to believe itâs the same man who dreamt up that skinny silhouette, which seemed so revolutionary a few years ago.

Our personal favourite of his recent projects (of course not including his tenure as Wallpaper* Guest Editor for W*103) is his portrait series of young artists.

Weâre not sure if the project started as a witty, literal reference to James Joyceâs novel but Slimane has certainly run with the idea, first photographing young New York artists a while back and most recently moving his lens to LA where heâs currently spending most of his time.

More than just an act of whimsy, Slimane sees the project as giving the young artists, which are shaping both the New York and LA scenes, a tangible personality. Taken at face value the portraits make for an interesting and striking collection. Quite apart from Slimaneâs talent as a photographer weâre taken with the charm that, in many cases, you canât help feeling the artists might be more comfortable behind the lens.

We also applaud the fact that Slimane hasn't turned the project into a grand exhibition, choosing instead to show the portraits within the relative modesty of his own site.